Lbp Am Sa Has $3.39 Million Holdings in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX)

Lbp Am Sa raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) by 200.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,472 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,996 shares during the quarter. Lbp Am Sa’s holdings in Quest Diagnostics were worth $3,390,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 251 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. First Financial Corp IN acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,370 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.13, for a total transaction of $935,078.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 68,068 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,852,680.84. This represents a 7.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total transaction of $205,712.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 16,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,775,802.19. This represents a 6.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 9,514 shares of company stock worth $1,634,445. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 0.8 %

DGX stock opened at $170.20 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.10. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $163.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $158.16. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has a 52 week low of $125.42 and a 52 week high of $178.87. The company has a market capitalization of $18.89 billion, a PE ratio of 22.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.92.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics Incorporated will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This is an increase from Quest Diagnostics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. Quest Diagnostics’s dividend payout ratio is 41.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $189.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price target (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.23.

About Quest Diagnostics

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated provides diagnostic testing and services in the United States and internationally. The company develops and delivers diagnostic information services, such as routine, non-routine and advanced clinical testing, anatomic pathology testing, and other diagnostic information services.